Big Sky

The Gate to the Isles (Blue Gate) 1980, Winifred Nicholson

This has long been a favourite. One of the few images salvaged from my flood-wrecked book of Winifred Nicholson's work in the early '90s, it spent time pinned to kitchen and bathroom walls, offering optimism and limitless possibilities with that big open sky.

Cineraria and Cyclamen, 1927

I could not afford the £200 or more it would now cost to replace my copy of that 1980's book.

Luckily a new book was published last year.

Flower Table: Pots, 1929

I like the simple, subject matter. Still life in the domestic environment. Her pot plants and window sills remind me of my Grandmother's house. I imagine her snatching time to paint between children and domestic chores, at least in her early years. The subjects unobtrusive out of necessity and landscapes viewed through the window from a kitchen or bedroom.

Dawn Chorus, before 1958

Colour and light were her inspirations right from the start. Even as a student the rainbow spectrum appeared in her work and a period in India served to charge her palette. Her paintings, for me, celebrate beauty in small things and joys of life.